Kaguya TC Ortho V02 Global Mosaic 474m (64ppd)

This near-global mosaic was generated using data from the SELenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE) “Kaguya” Terrain Camera (TC) instrument. TC source data originated as map-projected tiles at ~10 m/pixel spatial resolution.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE, also called “Kaguya”) spacecraft to the Moon in September 2007. The mission concluded June 10, 2009 when the spacecraft was intentionally crashed onto the lunar surface. Subsequent data collection and mapping efforts resulted in “the largest lunar exploration project since the Apollo program” (Haruyama, 2008). The high-performance optical Terrain Camera (TC), a 10-meter spatial resolution stereo-camera, was part of the Lunar Imager/Spectrometer (LISM) instrument suite (Kato, 2007), along with the Multi-band Imager (MI, 20 m/pixel; Ohtake et al., 2008) and Spectral Profiler (SP; Matsunaga et al., 2008).

Mission objectives for the TC included production of global, high-resolution, high-contrast mosaicked maps (tiles) of the Moon [e.g., Kato, 2006; Haruyama et al., 2008]. The SELENE team released map-projected near-global coverage of TC data with both Morning (“Morn”) and Evening (“Eve”) illuminations (low-sun, early or right-to-left low-angle solar illumination, and late or left-to-right solar illumination). The 3x3-degree tiles (7200 nominal count per set) are spatially co-registered to the Kaguya global DTM and match very well with the positions of the Apollo Lunar Retroreflector array (-17 to 5 m longitude, -20 to 48 m latitude, 3 to 5 m elevation; Haruyama et al., 2012). With the quality of registration, high spatial resolution, and image clarity, these data provide excellent complements to color data such as those from the LRO Wide Angle Camera and the Clementine UVVIS for geologic studies, mapping, and morphologic and structural analyses of the lunar surface.

For use, refer to the JAXA Conditions for material usage page ( http://jda.jaxa.jp/en/service.php ) and please credit JAXA and the SELENE/Kaguya data. ©JAXA/SELENE